Review: “The Fourth Wall”

The Fourth Wall pushes the theatricality of everyday life to total absurdity in order to break through political barriers.

Every time I enter a theatre and see a set recreating a living room I cringe a little: how many more will I see this season! That's why I was so excited to see The Fourth Wall by A.R. Gurney, a play that mocks the tired setting while striving to address the political anxieties of 2002 (the play was first written in 1991, but this is the version Gurney re-wrote in 2002). A living room drama turned inside out, this meta-theatrical comedy, produced by Theater Breaking Through Barriers, proves to be more relevant than ever.

Ann Marie Morelli and Stephen Drabicki in The Fourth Wall. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Nervous husband Roger (Nicholas Viselli) summons his friend Julia (Pamea Sabaugh) to the Buffalo suburbs; he's concerned for his wife, Peggy (Ann Marie Morelli). Not only has Peggy recently become increasingly politically aware and suspicious of strangers, she's also re-decorated the living room in a peculiar way. All the furniture faces a blank wall, resembling a theatrical set, which forces everybody who enters the room to act as though they are in front of an audience. Roger finds it difficult to relax in such a setting. The fact that the alcohol in the bar is replaced with “stage” drinks (ginger ale instead of champagne) doesn’t help.

Roger also calls on a local university drama professor, Floyd (Stephen Drabicki). Unable to resist the spell of the room, the four characters decide to go along with it and play the story out. The only problem is that Julia wants to make it a soap opera with love triangles and long-lost children, while Floyd attempts to elevate the plot to the status of a new Great American Drama. For Julia, Peggy is a crazy wife, the obstacle to a newly sparked passion. Floyd sees Peggy as a possible political martyr, the Joan of Arc of our times.      

Despite the amusement to be mined from sarcastic theatrical references and clever political jokes, The Fourth Wall is a little flimsy. The actors seem to still be in the process of finding the right angle on their characters, but the outlines are clear enough to see where director Christopher Burris is headed. Pierrot-like Roger, melodramatic Julia and boyish Floyd seem to be inspired by commedia dell'arte. The overly theatrical manner in which Viselli, Sabaugh and Drabicki present their characters is funny, if strained at times. The absurdist undertone is very compelling but I wished it were cranked up even more.

Peggy, the one who is presumably mad as a result of anti-Bush inclinations, might be the only sane person onstage. Ann Marie Morelli plays her in a realistic and sympathetic manner, quiet but passionate. Peggy’s methods come across as odd, but her intentions are healthy. A political activist who comes from privilege, she struggles to connect with the people "on the other side of the wall." In Peggy's mind, orienting the furniture to face the (fourth) wall might help her confront the barrier separating people of different cultural and economic backgrounds.

At times, Peggy wonders if there truly are people behind the wall. As an affirmative answer, a blue light illuminates the audience every time Peggy enters. It feels nice to be included in the play, but it doesn’t make up for the architecture of Paula Gural Theatre, which is unsuitable for this production. The play is performed as if on a traditional proscenium, with most of the scenes oriented towards the front. So those who are seated on the sides are at disadvantage. The mirrored back wall of the set is puzzling too. Does it speak of the dualism of theater and life? Is it there to reflect the audience and to include us in the setting? Whatever the idea might be, the effect is rather distracting in practice.   

Despite a few setbacks, The Fourth Wall is a gratifying evening of theatre, especially for those who, like myself, are allergic to white-upper-middle-class living room dramas. It is especially appropriate that Theater Breaking Through Barriers, a company dedicated to advancing actors with disabilities, is behind this production. Seeing TBTB smashing the perception of disability on stage—by casting actors with disabilities in roles not specifically written as such—is truly inspiring.

__________

The Fourth Wall plays at the A.R.T./N.Y. Theatres, 502 West 53rd Street, through June 23, 2018. The running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. Performances are Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7, Thursdays and Fridays at 8, Saturdays at 3 and 8, and Sundays at 3. Tickets are $50 and are available at tbtb.org or by calling 212-352-3101.

The Fourth Wall is by A.R. Gurney. Directed by Christopher Burris. Set and Lighting Design by Bert Scott. Sound Design by Andy Evan Cohan. Costumes by Courtney E. Butt. Stage Management by Michal V. Mendelson.    

The cast is Stephen Drabicki, Ann Marie Morelli, Pamela Sabaugh, and Nicholas Viselli.

(This review was published on theasy.com on 6/10/2018)

Review: “A Pink Chair (In Place of a Fake Antique)”

The Wooster Group pays tribute to artist Tadeusz Kantor in this meditative production haunted by the video ghosts of past and present.

A Pink Chair (In Place of a Fake Antique), the new piece by renowned Wooster Group, feels like a séance to summon the spirit of Polish artist Tadeusz Kantor. Multi-hyphenate Kantor started directing avant-garde theater in Nazi-occupied Krakow in 1942; he died in 1990, leaving behind a few films of his performances, manifestos and a daughter, Dorota Krakowska. Elizabeth LeCompte, longtime leader of the Wooster Group, takes the archival material and the testimonials of Krakowska as a starting point in creating a ritual to bring Kantor back to life. Who but The Woosters, with over 40 years of experience in theatrical alchemy, is up to the task!     

The Wooster Group ensemble in A Pink Chair. Photo by Maria Baranova.

The result is a 70-minute multi-media spectacle, which includes fragments of video interviews with Dorota Krakowska and the re-enactment of I Shall Never Return, Kantor's second to last piece, by the members of The Wooster Group. On a TV screen in the middle of the stage, we see the 1989 performance featuring Tadeusz Kantor and his actors. On stage we see members of The Wooster Group in costumes (by Enver Chakartash) resembling the original production, recreating the moves of the actors on video. As the camera changes angles, the actors change their positions and reassemble the furniture on wheels in sharp swift moves. The dialogue between the recording and the live performance is masterfully timed. 

Zbigniew "Z" Bzymek, in a slick black suit and a hat, portrays the Polish director. But, unlike Kantor, who is an active participant of his performances, Bzymek is bound to a chair, a cigarette glued to his fingers, with a fixed gaze as if from a photograph. The actor resembles one of the mannequins that Kantor frequently used in his performances. Bzymek is a stand-in, a sign in place of the main character in this elaborately designed memory machine. It is not the single actor’s body, but A Pink Chair in its entirety that portrays Kantor. This seems appropriate since I Shall Never Return is an autobiographical piece, where different characters embody the ghosts of Kantor’s life. 

The screen in the middle of the stage eventually disappears, but we can still see that the actors take their cues from the smaller monitors scattered around the theatre. Their eyes are always on the video ghosts of Kantor’s ensemble, devoted solemnly to the connection through time, as if channeling them. The cast’s presence, divided between the screen and the stage, creates an uncanny and exciting, yet alienating sensation. The experience is like watching a religious ritual performed for the gods, not the human beings. A Pink Chair culminates in a rousing hymn, "Bound for the Promised Land." And despite the clown accessories that the actors have donned by the end of the show, the moment is full of pathos and simply divine.

__________

A Pink Chair plays at Performing Garage, 33 Wooster Street, through June 2, 2018. The running time is 70 minutes with no intermission. Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 8, Saturday at 3 and 8. Tickets are $40 and are available at thewoostergroup.org.

A Pink Chair was created by the Wooster Group. Directed by Elizabeth LeCompte. Dramaturgy by Dorota Krakowska. Lighting Design by Jennifer Tipton. Sound Design and Original Music by Eric Sluyter and Omar Zubair. Video and Projections by Robert Wuss. Costumes by Enver Chakartash. Stage Management by Erin Mullin.    

The cast is Zbigniew Bzymek, Enver Chakartash, Jim Fletcher, Ari Fliakos, Gareth Hobbs, Dorota Krakowska (on video), Andrew Maillet, Erin Mulin, Suzzy Roche, Scott Shepherd, Danusia Trevino and Kate Valk.

(This review was published on theasy.com on 5.25.18)